News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-11-17
From our Regular Correspondent

as usual, by the Presidents recep-
ton at the White House on New
Years Day. This event will occur on
Monday, Jan. 2, 1888, as the new
year opens on a Sabbath. That will
be the opening of the regular season.
The next calendarial item of interest
is Ash Wednesday,, the beginning of
Lent and the end of the gay season,
which comes on Feb. Is. The White
House festivities include, at the least,
three state dinners-the cabinet, di-
plomatic and judges; the four even
ing receptions, diplomatic, Congress
sionaI, army and navy; the public re-
ception, and Mrs. Cleveland's weekly
Saturday afternoons, and there are
but two days more than six weeks in
which to hold them all. The solution
of this problem will be the joint task
of the President and Mrs. Cleveland,
Col. Lamont and Col. John M. Will
son, and whatsoever assistance more
they require will be orth-coming from
the State Department. 1t is believed
Mrs. Cleveland will not resume heI
Tuesday and Thursday monday le-
wees that were last year so agreeable
feature of the White House courte-
sizes.
The second International Fishery
Commission is about ready to begin
its work, which both nations hope will
be final. They are commencing the
business with an outward ensemble
that is very imposing. The first prac-
tical work was the engagement of
rooms for the Commissioners and
their personal stats. The average
citizen who finds one, or at least two,
eighteen by twenty-four apartments
large enough for all his practical bus
mess needs, learned with amazement
that five Commissioners require about
forty large rooms. Thirty-eight of
the best apartments at the Arlington
hotel were engaged almost fortnight |
ago for the sole use of members of the |
Commission. Nine of them will be
occupied by the American members,
Mr.. Putnam and Mr.. Angel, while it |
will take twenty-nine to hold the |
Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain pres
ident of the Board of Trade and Lo-
cal Government Board in Mr.. Glad
stones second and third cabinets) and
his colleague, Sir Charles Upper.
These two gentlemen while here, pro-
pose to be very exclusive. They have
even engaged private dining rooms,
in order that the casual American may
not witness the manner in which the
representatives of Her Majesty, the
Queen, take their nourishment. They
will be accompanied by private Sec
retaries, secretaries not private, and
clerks and servants enough to fill the
apartments and to thus properly main
tain the dignity of sour Sovereign
Lord, the King" AS Mr.. Putnam
and Mr.. Angel are simply two Ameri-
can gentlemen, they do not object to
taking their meals in company with
any number of their fellow citizens
whom Mr.. Roessle, the proprietor,
will admit to the privileges of his hos
telry.
We are getting some very interest
ing information touching Gen. Wash
ington nowadays, and from sources
that are beyond question in accuracy.
Among other things it seems that
Gen. Washington's fortune has always
been greatly exaggerated. The last
ten years of his life his property hard
ly maintained itself and did not in
crease in value. About the only crop
that would grow and give abundant
yield on the farming lands of Mount
Vernon was wheat or rye, and for it
there was no convenient market.
"Why, l remember" said a gentle
man the other day, who has given
much attention to this particular fea-
ture of Gen. Washington's history.
"that fifty years ago it was reported
that Gen. Washington was thought to
have left an estate of half million
dollars. / made careful inquiry and
have actually been told that leaving
out the land he was not worth more
than $25, 900, and had he lived ten
years longer he would have been
bankrupt. There was nothing he
owned that was making any money,
except, perhaps, the ferry across the /
Potomac, of which many curious and
funny stories used to be told" There
is yet an opportunity for some one
who knows, to write personal histo-
ry of Gen. Washington as he was,
that would be most interesting.
LENox.